


The Older Man

by jewelianna88



Category: Popslash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-23
Updated: 2011-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-18 13:46:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewelianna88/pseuds/jewelianna88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prequel to "This One Time".  The Hook-up Fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Older Man

Lance watched the world go by from the backseat of Justin’s mom’s car, and wondered if he was dressed right. Justin had told him the party was gonna be casual, but he’d still wanted to look a little nice, since it was a graduation and everything. He supposed his polo shirt was OK, since Justin was wearing one kinda like it, but. He tugged at the pockets on his shorts, which were a little tighter than he would have liked. He’d grown a lot since last summer.

“Honey, are you gonna call for a ride home, or do you want me to just come get you at ten?” Justin’s mom turned as she stopped at a light, waiting for her son’s reply.

“Ten!” Justin sounded completely aghast. “That’s like, early!”

“Don’t give me that, Justin, it’s a school night.” His mom hit the gas again, ignoring the “Harrumph!” from her son as he slumped back into the seat. Neither said a word until they got to the party, and Lance scrambled out of the backseat, away from the awkward silence.

“I’ll call you,” Justin said, before slamming the door. Lance waved as she drove away.

Standing in front of the house, Lance could hear music coming from the back. He glanced nervously at Justin, who was already heading through the chain-link gate into the yard. He knew Chris, obviously, he’d even gotten a personal invite, but Chris was a senior and he was just a freshman. He didn’t know where Justin got all of his nerve.

In the backyard, a table was set up with platters of burgers and hot dogs, bowls of chips, and plates of chopped veggies. A banner that read “Congratulations, Chris!” was stretched between two windows on the back of the house, and there were blue and white balloons tied to the fence. It was a simple party, but there were a ton of people there and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

“Hey, the freshmen are here!” Lance heard, and turned to see Chris walking towards them. He was still wearing his cap, tassel swinging in his face. Justin gave him a hug, then Chris turned to Lance.

“Congrats, man.” Lance felt foolish handing Chris the card he’d brought.

“Thanks. I can’t believe I’m finally done!” Chris directed them over to the food, where his mom was cooking up cheeseburgers. She smiled at the latest arrivals and helped them fill their plates with goodies.

“Man, we’re like, the only freshmen here,” Justin commented. ‘This is so cool!” Around them were other people Lance knew from the band, and a few he recognized from around school.

It did make Lance feel kinda special, that Chris had invited just them. He’d always liked Chris. He got to know him pretty well during jazz season, when Chris put down his euphonium and picked up a trumpet. He had that raw talent that allowed him to just switch instruments and still be good enough to earn a solo award at the regional festival. Lance admired that, and had stuck close to Chris to avoid some of the other, less-likeable members of the trumpet section.

Still, though, it was Justin who’d hung out with Chris a lot, spending time with him outside of school and rehearsals, plotting practical jokes for the other band members or checking out boys at the mall. Lance had expected Justin to be invited to Chris’s graduation, but never expected Chris to invite him too.

Chris’s family didn’t have a lot of money, and only lived on one floor of the three-story house, but the party was the best one Lance had ever been to. There was a volleyball net at the back of the yard, and Joey, who was a couple years ahead of him, started a game. Lance was good at volleyball, and was playing out back until it grew too dark to see. By then, most of the people had gone home.

Inside, the few remaining guests were sitting around the basement rec room. Chris was holding court, still wearing his cap, with Justin, JC, and some other kids from band when Lance walked in.

“Hey, Justin, you should probably call your mom,” Lance said. He glanced around, noticing that Justin was wearing his flirtatious face.

“Is it that late?” Justin looked at his watch. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch. Behind him, Joey’s friend JC was playing with Justin’s hair. “Shit.”

“Do you have to go?” Chris asked. It took Lance a minute to realize he was talking to him, not Justin.

“Oh, um. His mom said ten, so.” Lance shifted his weight from foot to foot, unsure if he should sit or stand. Justin wasn’t making any move to get up.

“Sucks, man. I was hoping you could stick around longer.” He smiled at Lance, who felt his stomach flutter. Chris had a really nice smile.

“God, she treats me like I’m a fucking kid. Can I use your phone?”

‘You are,” Joey said, and everyone laughed. Chris tossed Justin a cordless, and Justin dialed with one hand. With the other, he raised a middle-fingered salute to Joey’s comment.

“Hi, mom? It’s me. Can I stay at Lance’s tonight? We’ll sleep, I promise.” Lance whipped his head around to stare at Justin, who was smiling up at him from the floor. “I’ll borrow some of his clothes. I will. I will. I can? You’re the best! Thanks, thanks. Ok, OK, bye.” He hung up the phone.

“Justin,” Lance said, trying to keep his voice down so everyone didn’t hear. “What the hell?”

“Call your mom, ask her to stay at my place. They’ll never know, we can stay here, right?” He looked over at Chris, who shrugged. “Come on, do it!”

“Yeah, Lance, we want you to stay.” Lance looked over to see Chris watching him again, smiling, and drinking the last few drops of Coke from a plastic bottle. He knew it was a bad idea, but. Chris was asking him, Chris, the really cool senior, and something inside him said to take a chance, do it. So he did.

And his mom said yes, and he was pretty sure his hands were shaking when he hung up the phone, cause this was the worst thing he’d ever done in his entire fifteen years of existence. And he’d be grounded all summer if he was ever caught.

“Come on, sit down.” Chris tugged at his hand and pulled him to a spot on the rug next to him. Justin grinned from across the circle. Justin, Joey, JC, Chris, and two girls, Mallory and Eva, who had just graduated too, were all that were left. They all seemed very comfortable with each other, even Justin, making Lance feel a little bit like the odd one out, until Chris finished his soda and threw his arm around Lance’s shoulders.

“I’m glad you’re staying, Bass. I like you.” Lance could feel the blush creeping up his cheeks. Chris looked around a bit before continuing. “I can’t believe I’m done.”

“I know,” said Mallory. “It feels so weird, like. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“Totally.” Eva agreed. Her voice was real low, for a girl, and kind of breathy. Lance had always pictured her working in one of those nightclubs from the 20s.

“Do you have any regrets, anything you always meant to do, but never did?” JC asked, from his position on the couch.

“Mmm. Let’s see. Did the sports thing. The band thing. The classes thing. The sex thing. The experiment with drugs and alcohol thing.” Chris paused to think. “You know, there is one thing I never did.”

“What’s that?” JC asked, sitting up now in curiosity.

“Played Spin The Bottle.” He smiled, wickedly, and winked at Lance. Lance grinned back, then noticed the soda bottle still sitting in his hand. Suddenly the music in the room seemed a whole lot louder, and he looked across at Justin who was wearing a wicked smile. Right there, in that moment, he decided he’d already broken enough rules that night, he might as well go all out.

Reaching over, he plucked the bottle out of Chris’s hand and gave it an experimental spin in front of him. “This would do,” he said. “You wanna give it a try?” He handed it back to Chris, who was grinning widely.

“Why, Lance Bass. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“You don’t know a lot of things,” he said, feeling brave and praying he didn’t sound foolish.

Thankfully, Mallory broke in. “Yeah, like anything about girls.”

“Hey, now.” Chris sat up straighter, puffing out his chest. “I’ll have you know I’ve been to second base with a girl.”

“Really?” Justin looked over at him. Chris was kind of the gay patriarch in the band. He’d been out and open for as long as Lance had known him, even before when he was still in junior high and heard rumors about “that gay kid in the high school band”.

“Yeah.” Chris wrinkled up his nose. “I touched her boob. It was so gross! All, like, squishy.” He shuddered, as his friends laughed. Joey, especially, was howling so much he tipped over.

“So, are we playing?” Eva asked. “Cause the numbers aren’t really fair here, two girls, four guys.”

“Gay,” Chris said, pointing to his chest. “Gay and gay,” he said, pointing to JC and Justin. “Gay?” He pointed to Lance with a questioning tone in his voice, until Lance ducked his head in a nod. “OK, then. The only one this really isn’t fair to is Joey, but he’ll deal.” He reached out and spun the bottle around before Joey had a chance to complain.

Lance watched as the bottle circled around and around before stopping to face Justin. Grinning wildly, Chris walked on his knees across the circle to plant a noisy kiss on Justin’s lips. As he moved back into his place, Justin grabbed his chest and swooned. Lance laughed, relaxed by Justin’s playfulness, ignoring the pang that went off in his head when his friends had kissed.

Picking himself up off of the floor, Justin spun the bottle around. It pointed to Mallory. Scrunching his nose, Justin leaned across the circle to give her a peck on the lips.

“Sure, I get the gay boy,” she mumbled good-naturedly.

“Honey, you’ve only got a one in five chance of getting the straight one,” JC said, and everyone laughed as she took her turn.

The game went on for about fifteen minutes. Lance got kissed by Justin, who licked at his cheek, and then kissed JC, who smelled like cinnamon. It was nice, but JC wasn’t the one he was hoping to kiss. Eventually, though, the game grew boring.

“Hey,” Chris said, “Let’s kick this up a notch. From now on, you must use tongue.”

Lance’s heart beat wildly in his chest, and he watched as Chris picked up the bottle to spin. Tongue? That would be like, making out. Making out in front of all these people…

His worries were assuaged, though, when Joey spoke. “Um, Chris, I’m not gonna French you.” He pulled back from the circle, and flipped on the TV. JC followed, sitting up on the couch again, and the little circle broke up. Lance noticed that Justin was quick to follow JC.

“I’ve gotta go the bathroom,” Eva said. “Mallory, come with me.” The two went running up the stairs.

“You know, it’s not like at school, there’s only one at a time here,” Chris yelled after them. He tossed the bottle. “So, I guess it’s just you and me, Bass.” He licked at his lips, tongue pink and wet. Lance’s eyes grew wide.

His expression must have read as fear, because Chris laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Relax, kid, I’m only playing with you.” Then, without further discussion, Chris stood, announced he was hungry, and left in search of food. Lance was relieved, really, but at the same time somewhat disappointed because he had kind of wanted to kiss Chris. Just to see what it was like.

Oh, who was he fooling? He was falling hard, and he didn’t think that it was going to get any better before the night was through.

**

At dawn, JC offered to drive Justin and Lance home so they could get their stuff for school. Lance helped to lug Justin’s sleeping form into the backseat, then stood in the driveway while JC went around the car to unlock the doors.

Chris ran out of the house and stopped in the grass next to Lance. His feet were bare, and he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. He looked rumpled and tired, but very adorable.

“Would you want to, like, go to the movies this weekend? Some of us are going, and, you know. Do you want to come too?” Chris looked Lance right in the eye when he asked, which was a little bit unnerving.

“Really?” Lance’s voice soared higher than usual, so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Really. Um. Yeah, that sounds cool.”

“Cool. I’ll pick you up, probably a little before seven. We’re driving to Carson cause they’ve got stadium seating.”

“OK. Um, I’ll probably have to be home by ten, though, so.” Lance fought the blush creeping up his neck. Chris laid his hand over Lance’s where it rested on top of the car. The contrast between warm skin and cool metal was striking.

“No, hey, that’s cool, we should be back by then, no problem. And it’s a big group thing, in case your mom’s worried about you going out with an older man or anything.”

Lance gulped. Was this a date? Chris had said going out, but the way he’d phrased it, Lance wasn’t quite sure. “OK, cool. See you Friday.”

Chris dropped his hand, then, and let Lance climb in the car. Justin was crashed out on the backseat, asleep already. JC smiled at him across the console.

“Someone’s got a crush on you,” he commented, backing out of the driveway.

Keeping his eyes focused on the passing houses, Lance didn’t answer.

“Hey, you’re not freaked or anything, right? Cause Chris is cool, man, and I think he likes you.” JC glanced at Lance as he stopped at a corner. “Do you like him?”

Lance blushed, and remained quiet. He gave a slight shrug. He did, but. Chris was so much older, so cool. He just couldn’t believe that he had a date with him.

“He talks about you all the time,” JC said, which finally got Lance’s attention off the road and focused on the driver. “He said you’re wicked cute and stuff.”

“He said that?” Lance asked, amazed. And flattered. Chris was really hot and Lance was just kind of there. That’s how he thought of himself most of the time, just kind of there.

“Mmm.” Pulling up in front of Justin’s house, JC reached into the backseat and shook the younger boy awake. “Hey, sleepyhead. Go in and change. Then get your stuff so we can get you to school on time. We’ve still gotta swing by my house and Lance’s.”

Justin rolled sleepily out of the car, giving no indication that he’d heard what Lance and JC were discussing. That was good, because the last thing Lance wanted was his ex-boyfriend’s input on his love life, even if it was still only in the potential phase. Justin was his best friend but they hadn’t been broken up quite long enough to be at the stage where they could talk about dating other people comfortably.

“So, do you like him?” JC asked while Justin was in the house.

“I dunno. I mean, I don’t really know him that well.” Lance would never admit how much he did know about Chris, like the fact that he drew little googlely eyes on his music when he needed to look up or the way he didn’t tie his sneakers, just pried them on and off without bothering with the mess of knots. Little things he’d noticed over the past year that would probably make him sound like a stalker if he ever said them out loud.

“Oh, you so do!” JC exclaimed with glee, bouncing in the seat. “I told him you did, but he didn’t believe me!”

“Shut up,” Lance replied lamely, settling back into the car. He was thankful Justin chose that moment to emerge from the house with bagels for the three of them, ending any further conversation on the topic.

**

Friday afternoon Lance was in a near panic. He’d forgotten to ask permission ahead of time. OK, he’d procrastinated asking because he was afraid they’d say no. His mom tended to be a little strict and overprotective. Now, it was only an hour until Chris was supposed to be there.

“Um, Mom?” he asked tentatively.

“Yeah, sweetie?” His mom was making spaghetti, stirring sauce in a big pot on the stove. It was a comforting sight.

“Some of the kids from school are going to the movies tonight, and invited me.” He leaned against the doorjamb and tried to appear casual. “Can I go?”

“Who’s going, Lance?” His mom turned to add hamburger to the sauce, scraping the ground meat from the frying pan into the pot.

”Um, Chris, JC, Joey? You remember them from band?”

She frowned. “Weren’t they older?”

“Yeah, but we all hung out in jazz.” He hoped she didn’t ask why Justin wasn’t going then, too. She probably would, since they always did everything together.

“Who’s driving, and what are you seeing?” She wiped her hands on a towel and turned to face him. He gulped. He couldn’t lie to his mom straight to her face.

“Chris is driving, and I think we’re seeing the new Adam Sandler movie.” He guessed, since it was the only good thing out that was rated PG-13, and his mom would never let him see a rated R movie.

“I didn’t know that was showing here yet.” Their town had a small second-run theater.

“It isn’t. We’re going to Carson. And it’s a seven o’clock show, so I’ll be home by curfew.” Lance sent silent prayers to heaven that his mom would let him go. How sad would it be to have your mom say no when you’d been asked out on your first real date?

“Well, I guess it’s OK, as long as you’re home on time and you call if you go anyplace else.”

Lance surged across the kitchen to envelope his mom in a tight hug. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Taken aback by his show of affection, Lance’s mom patted his back gently, then smiled when he stepped away. “Here, now.” She handed him a pile of dishes and turned him toward the table.

**

Chris drove a really old Camero with no muffler, so you hear it coming down the street from blocks away. He pulled in front of Lance’s house and honked, but Lance was waiting right by the door and ran outside before him mom could scowl about the rudeness of horn honking.

“Hey,” he said, climbing into the passenger seat. The windows were down because there was no air conditioning, and the Black Crows were playing on the stereo.

“Hey! I’m glad you remembered, I totally forgot to call,” Chris said. “I was just hoping you’d be here.”

“Nope, I remembered,” Lance said. He rubbed his palms on his jeans, trying to make them less sweaty. “By the way, what are we seeing?”

“What? Oh, the one about the guy who’s gonna blow up the earth. That OK?” Lance shrugged. It was opening night for that movie, he’d forgotten. At least it wasn’t rated R so he wouldn’t have to get someone else to buy his ticket.

“Sure.”

Getting to the theater took some time, but Chris was easy to talk to about music and stuff. He knew a lot about older bands like Aerosmith and Nirvana, which interested Lance. He let Chris go on and on about the purity of rock until they got to the theater.

They met up with the others in the lobby- Eva, again, and her boyfriend Gabe, who was just home from his freshman year of college. JC and Joey, who were inseparable, it seemed, and would probably start dating if Joey ever went gay, and Mallory and her friend Mari rounded out the crew.

Lance ended up sitting on the end of the row, next to Chris. JC liked to sit in the back of the theater, because he liked to watch people’s reactions to the movie as well as the picture itself. It was dark, there, and they played along with the Celebrity Scrambles on the screen until the show began.

Lance tried to concentrate, he really did, but his attention was focused solely on Chris. They’d shared a bag of popcorn, and Chris held it between them. Lance reached in for a handful, catching Chris’s eye as he grappled for a bunch of the fluffy kernels. Chris grinned at him and tilted the bag.

“Thanks,” Lance whispered. He munched on the popcorn, savoring the salty-buttery taste. He wiped the grease on his jeans, then propped his knees up on the seat in front of him, resting his hands on his thighs.

“You want more?” Chris asked, and Lance shook his head. Chris set the near-empty bag on the ground, and shifted to sit like Lance, only throwing his legs over the chair in front of him.

Lance glanced over at Chris and smiled. His stomach fluttered and he realized that he really shouldn’t have had the popcorn, because now he was in danger of throwing it up all over the place. He turned his attention back to the screen just in time to see the female lead stripping off her cocktail dress, ready to jump into action in just her underwear.

“Gross,” he heard Chris whisper. “I don’t wanna see that.”

“I know,” Lance murmured back. “Totally unnecessary boob shot.”

“How come they don’t have any totally unnecessary dick shots?” Chris asked, and Lance snorted. That would be nice.

Chris shifted again, dropping one hand off of his own leg and onto Lance’s. Slowly, he began to rub up and down a little, just to the left of Lance’s hand. Lance shuddered a little bit at the sensation, feeling the nerves in his thighs send tingling sensations to his groin.

Boldly, he inched his own hand down until it was touching Chris’s. He turned it over and Chris slid his hand in, fitting them together where they rested on Lance’s leg. Chris’s hand was warm and dry, and Lance smiled a little bit to himself but didn’t say a word as he turned his attention back to the movie.

It wasn’t until the credits were going up that Lance realized he’d been holding hands with Chris for over an hour. His lower legs were both numb from loss of circulation, and his butt was on pins and needles. Standing shakily, he stretched out as the house lights came on.

Chris placed a hand in the small of his back as they headed out of the aisle. Lance caught JC’s eye as they walked down the stairs. JC winked at him, nodding toward the contact. Lance just smiled widely. They poured out into the lobby, tossing empty popcorn bags and soda cups into the overflowing trashcans.

“Where’re we going to eat? I’m feeling like Fridays, man, or Chili’s.” Joey danced down the steps outside the theater. It was still warm out, a sign that summer was only a few weeks away.

“Chili’s!” JC crowed, sliding down the railing. “I want Chocolate Volcano Cake!”

“You guys in?” Joey asked, turning to the rest of them. Dani and Gabe nodded, but Chris turned to Lance before answering.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“I’ve got to get home,” Lance said reluctantly. “I’ve gotta be home by ten.”

“That’s cool.” Chris turned to the others and said “I’m gonna take Lance home and meet you guys there in a little while.” He said his goodbyes, and Lance followed suit.

Back in the car, Chris turned the music down as they drove home. Lance studied his profile as he drove, noting the way his hair flopped prettily in his eyes. Simple silver earrings glittered in his lobes, and his eyes were a deep mocha brown that glistened when the headlights of other cars roamed by. Lance unconsciously licked his lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss Chris. Wondered what it would be like to kiss someone experienced. Lance had only really kissed one other person, and it had good but he knew, just knew, that it could be so much better. He wondered if Chris would kiss him, that night.

Realizing that he was spacing, Lance snapped his attention back to Chris. “I’m sorry, what?”

Amused, Chris answered “I had a good time tonight.”

“Oh.” Lance blushed. “Me too. I’m really glad you invited me out with y’all.”

“Y’all,” Chris teased. “I thought we cured you of that accent!”

“It’s still there. Just comes out sometimes,” Lance said. He wouldn’t say it was heavier when he was nervous or tired or turned on. That was something he kept to himself, until a time when others discovered it for themselves.

Chris parked in front of Lance’s house, turning off the loud rumbling engine. “So, I guess I’ll see you around, huh?”

“Yeah.” Lance put a hand on the door handle, but didn’t get it open. Instead, Chris grabbed his head and turned it back, catching his lips in a kiss before he could realize what was going on.

Lance froze, and the two stayed unmoving for a long moment, just Chris’s lips pressed up against Lance’s. Then Lance’s brain kicked into gear and he turned his body back toward Chris, opening his lips a little so that Chris could attack them again with more vigor. Soft, salty, pliant lips. Lance kept kissing and kissing until he felt Chris’s tongue licking at his lips. He opened his mouth a little wider until he felt the tip of his tongue touch Chris’s. Warm, wet kisses followed. There was a voice in his head telling him to “tilt left! More tongue!” and at the same time, he was scrambling to remember everything that was happening.

Finally, Chris pulled back some. His hands were still holding Lance’s head by his ear, and Lance’s hands were gripped on Chris’s wrists. Slowly they drew apart until Chris was back on his side of the car.

“Um. I guess I need to go in,” Lance said, opening the car door.

“Hey, Lance?” Chris called, and Lance turned to lean back into the window. “Do you want to do something tomorrow?”

Lance grinned. “Yeah. That’d be cool.”

Chris reached over and touched his hands. “Cool. I’ll call you.” Then, with a roar of the engine, he took off down the street.

Lance took the steps two at a time, calling out to his parents that he was home before dashing up to his room. Once there, he flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, replaying the night in his mind over and over again until he was simply giddy.

And then there was tomorrow.

END


End file.
